RoBoHoN: Sharp's tiny robot is actually a phone ()

This small robot has more to it than meets the eye – it doubles as a mobile phone.

The 19.5 cm tall RoBoHoN, from Sharp, is set to be launched in May and is one of the more unusual entrants into an increasingly busy smartphone market.

Developed with researchers at the University of Tokyo the robo-phone will be released in Japan for 198,000 Yen (around £1,280), with the company reportedly looking to bring it to other countries in the future.

As a robot, the device is able to walk on two legs and has an inbuilt laser projector with a resolution of 1280 x 720 that can display project photos, videos and maps onto screens or other flat surfaces.

RoBoHoN also features a voice recognition system for controlling the robot. Extra features will be introduced as new apps are released. "RoBoHoN can grow to accommodate more natural communication with the user by learning the user's profile and usage situation," Sharp said.

The phone element of the robot runs on Android 5.0, has a two-inch LCD screen, 16GB of storage and a 1,700mAh battery. There's also Bluetooth 4.0, an eight megapixel camera and the usual array of accelerometers and gyroscopes.

The high price will likely limit the number of units Sharp sells and the company anticipates a monthly sales volume of 5,000 units.